VALDOSTA — The Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts will host blues artist Lionel Young from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Turner Center Art Park, 605 N. Patterson St., on Friday.

The concert is the third of 10 free, live performances in the 2025 Levitt AMP Valdosta Music Series, sponsored by the Mortimer and Mimi Levitt Foundation, The Price-Campbell Foundation, WALB News 10, Lamar Advertising, and the Valdosta Daily Times.

Young is a high-energy performer with a bent for the blues. His Lionel Young Band, winners of numerous awards for best in and around the Colorado region, have won the 2011 International Blues Challenge (IBC) band competition. Added to his victory at the 2008 IBC in the solo-duo category, that makes Lionel Young the first double champion in the history of the IBC.

Fans of the driven, classically trained Young love his distinctive brand of blues on the electric violin. His show features not only originals, but also interpretations of blues classics by Willie Dixon, Leadbelly and Stevie Ray Vaughan, along with the strength and passion of Young’s playing, his smooth vocals and unique translations. The songs, which include his award-winning composition “Brown Cloud Over Denver” and “Hey, O.J.,” alternately stir up social concerns and soothe the weary soul.

Young has had the honor of working with such show biz luminaries as: Count Basie, Stevie Wonder, Jimmy Paige/Robert Plant, Doc Severinson, Linda Ronstadt, Living Color, Billy Taylor, Woodie Herman, Stanley Turrentine, Homesick James, Homer Brown, Hamlet Bluiett, Chief Bae, and Johnny Long.

The public is invited to bring blankets and lawn chairs to the concerts. In addition, the on-site food vendor is Big J’s BBQ and the drink vendor is Downtown Social. Community partners for this show are Valdosta Lowndes Jobs and LAMP-Valdosta. Admission is free.

Visit turnercenter.org for a full schedule of concerts and directions. Patrons who need special assistance may contact the Center at 229-247-2787 to make those arrangements.